Honeycomb

Huawei has made its MediaPad tablet official, billing the slate as the world's first 7-inch Android 3.2 Honeycomb model. Built around an IPS capacitive touchscreen, the 10.5mm thick MediaPad runs Qualcomm's 1.2GHz dual-core processor and has twin cameras - a 5-megapixel autofocus unit on the back, supporting HD video recording, along with a 1.3-megapixel webcam up front for video calls - together with HSPA+ 14.4Mbps connectivity and an HDMI port.

Sony has released the first video in a new teaser campaign for the S1 and S2 Android Honeycomb tablets, with a Rube Goldberg-style machine theme that tells us little about the touchscreen pair. In fact, Sony seems more interested in creating city-scape shadows than it is in demonstrating its attempt to rival Apple's iPad 2.

Lenovo has confirmed that it has two Android 3.x Honeycomb tablets in the pipeline for 2011, as well as a Windows 7 model for release later in the year. According to COO Rory Read, DowJones reports, Lenovo will have both a consumer slate - the IdeaPad K1 aka LePad - and an enterprise model falling under its ThinkPad heading, presumably the same tablet we saw leaked back in April.

Scan the headlines, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that everybody had a tablet these days. The iPad broke the market open, and since that point we've seen a torrent of rivals each trying to take the touchscreen crown. It's a tricky segment to judge, and even harder if you're trying to take your first steps into tableteering. Get up to speed with your options - and advice on which slate to select - after the cut!

ASUS has apparently confirmed that it intends to offer an updated, Windows 8 version of the Eee Pad Transformer. Set to go on sale in 2012 - alongside a new Android version, Notebook Italia reports - the Transformer sequel will use the same detachable-keyboard design as the existing model, with a secondary battery hidden inside the dock section. Meanwhile, new supplies of the first Transformer are expected to come through the pipeline very soon.

Up in the air, Junior Android! Samsung is taking to the skies with its Galaxy Tab 10.1, inking a deal with American Airlines to put 6,000 of the Honeycomb slates into the premium cabins of select transcontinental and international flights. Rather than the existing in-flight entertainment system, AA will use specially customized Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets bearing extra memory.

Toshiba's Thrive tablet may not be the first Android slate to the market, but it's looking like that little extra time has given the company room to buff off some of the rough edges we've seen on other Honeycomb models. Up for pre-order today, priced from $429.99 for the 8GB model, the Thrive runs NVIDIA's 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core but also throws in a full-sized HDMI port and full-sized SD card slot.

ASUS has confirmed that the first of its 3G-enabled Eee Pad Transformer tablets will arrive in August, with availability in the UK. At the same time, the ASUS Eee Pad Slider will also launch in the UK, offering 10-inches of Honeycomb in a slightly different form-factor.

First the Sony S2 cleared the FCC; now its S1 sibling has done the same. Four variants of the Sony S1 Honeycomb slate have been approved, the SGPT111US/S, SGPT112US/S, SGPT111CA/S and SGPT112CA/S, presumably two versions each for the US and Canada (and the reports says the model differences are "for marketing purposes only", perhaps with changes in onboard storage). Unfortunately, Sony has spoilt our fun somewhat with a 180 day confidentiality block on any live testing images.